


A Manakete's Guide to Living in the 21st Century

by MultiStanFanyu



Category: Fire Emblem: Fuukasetsugetsu | Fire Emblem: Three Houses
Genre: (minor) Fire Emblem: Three Houses Blue Lions Route Spoilers, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Angst with a Happy Ending, Byleth slept a lot longer than five years..., Fluff and Angst, M/M, Male My Unit | Byleth, Multi, Rating May Change, Slight spoilers, TWSITD sucks, minor twins au, no beta we die like Glenn, slight angst
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-08-10
Updated: 2020-08-19
Packaged: 2021-03-06 05:14:29
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 3
Words: 7,041
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25797991
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MultiStanFanyu/pseuds/MultiStanFanyu
Summary: After the attack on Garreg Mach, Edelgard had another trick up her sleeve, one that left Byleth in a coma for much longer than five years... Without Rhea to use as insurance, or the goddess incarnate backing her strength, the empire collapsed under the might of TWSITD. The Agarthans won, and Fodlan was ushered into a new era.
Relationships: Flayn & My Unit | Byleth, Flayn & Seteth (Fire Emblem), Flayn & Yuris Leclair | Yuri Leclerc, My Unit | Byleth/Seteth, Yuris Leclair | Yuri Leclerc & My Unit | Byleth
Comments: 9
Kudos: 41





	1. Chapter 1

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I wanna be very clear that I know where this story is going and have the whole thing planned out already. I also wanna be clear that the rest of the chapters will be longer than the first. good? Then enjoy the story and let me know what you think!

Sometimes he could hear running water, or a bellowing roar that could wake even the dead.

But not him.

His face deathly pale, with just the slightest colour adorning his elvish features. Time waited for no one but him it would seem, although Sothis has always been fond of him, even if she would sooner die again than say it out loud. Then again, Sothis could be wise and mature if the situation called for it, so what did he know?

He slept and slept, until days turned to months, months turned to years, and years turned to centuries. Wars that lasted lifetimes, crushing defeat, the deaths of his lions, he slept through it all. If the world burned, he would slumber on still.

How does he wake up? Does he want to anymore?

He cannot know these things as he is now.

So he dreamt, sometimes of his sister...

_She looked at him, her eyes watery and narrowed._

_“How can you know how I feel if you don’t feel?” She screamed at him._

_“Every day, I hear about how_ special _you are, and it makes me sick! You’re nothing more than… than a freak playing human! You’re just like_ them _.” She spat, eyes narrowed into slits._

_He sat there, unblinkingly, green eyes staring into blue._

_He had no idea his sister felt that way…_

_Being told he had the crest of flames, being praised and coddled by the Archbishop, being able to wield the Sword of the Creator…_

_It just occurred to him what she was really feeling… jealousy._

_Surely she knew though, that she could express herself freely, that she never had to worry about messing up, or being scrutinized for every little thing she does. Couldn’t she see that everyone but the Archbishop liked her better than him. Being the talented one, being the fun one, being the beautiful one, being the free one, being the human one. Did she really not see how much better she was than him?_

_“...”_

_“Say something!” She screeched at him, throwing a rock at him with a deadly speed and accuracy._

_He let her hit him._

_It hurt._

Sometimes he dreamt of Edelgard’s betrayal, and how she wooed his own sister away from him.

_“I wish you could understand why I’m doing this.” The Empress locked gazes with him, lilac eyes narrowed with determination blaring in their depths. “I will give you one last chance to join the Empire, to join your sister.”_

_He shook his head, eyes narrowed into steely slits -a trick he may or may have not learned from his sister- that was more than enough to convey that he’d sooner die than join in on her senseless war._

_Edelgard was a beautiful woman, with light hair and pretty eyes. She was smart, studious, and passionate, he could see how his sister might be so smitten. However, Edelgard died the day she betrayed them, and tried to take their lives on multiple occasions, the day he found out she also played a part in their father’s death. Edelgard Von Hresvelg, leader of the Black Eagles, died and in her stead was a monster wearing her skin. Why did his sister not see that?_

_“You can take you and your oh so_ righteous _war, and shove it. You can justify your killing all you like, but take it from a merc that in the end you're still just a murderer.” He hissed at her, charging with a sword in hand._

_Only to be parried by his sister._

_“Stand down Byleth.” She ordered him coldly._

_“My teacher…” He heard not-Edelgard gasp._

_“If you don’t stand down, I’ll snap you and your blessings over my knee.” She stated cooly, never looking away even once._

_Byleth was outnumbered two to one, Edelgard and his sister versus him. For all his spite and anger at Edelgard, he wasn’t sure he could do it…_

As he dreamt, the world continued to change, and so did the people. The only one untouched by time was him, him and the rest of the Nabateans.

Byleth slumbered on, all but dead to the world, a scaly tail wrapped around him protectively.


	2. Chapter 2

Sometimes when Seteth thought of how much Fodlan has changed in the past few centuries, he had to sit down just to collect his bearings.

Television, internet, phones, cars, and electricity. So much that wasn’t there before, and so much that would never be back. The last time he met a pious person, was… goddess, has it already been over two hundred and ninety years? Where did the time go, he wondered as he stared out the window into the traffic below.

Much has changed, even Seteth and Flayn themselves. Nowadays Seteth was an accountant, and Flayn liked to be a student most of the time, but sometimes she liked the normalcy in holding a simple job, even if she looked far too young for one. Blending in nowadays was a bit -a lot- harder than it was during the monastery days. Seteth can very well admit that he had to dabble in some… unsavory things. It turns out you simply can’t walk around saying your name anymore, because people had ID’s and they expected you to have one too. He learned that one the hard way, and almost blew his and Flayn’s cover. In order to avoid that, he met this young man named Kaiser who agreed to help him… for a price.

Humans never did anything out of kindness it would seem.

After about thirty years of helping him and Flayn out, he confessed to Seteth that the real reason he helped them was because he thought that he and Flayn could be Cethleann and Cichol -and he was right- but Seteth had denied it. When he died and Seteth made sure to visit his grave every once in a while, sometimes with Flayn in tow. Recently, he found the man’s great-great grandson while he was visiting his grave, and by recently, he meant about two years ago. The boy recognised him right away, as well as Flayn, due to his great-great grandfather talking to his child about it, who talked to _their_ child, who talked to Yuri. Apparently, he was an adoptive grandson of sorts. He was also in his families gang, and helped them out from time to time.

Luckily for him though, unlike his great-great grandfather, all Yuri wanted to know was what Fodlan was like before. It was a small price to pay, so pay he did. He never asked what Seteth was, or the secrets of his people, and for that he was grateful. In a way, it warmed his heart to know there were still people who cared about the old Fodlan. Seteth did not like to make a habit of gambling, being the pious person he was, but he was willing to bet Yuri would’ve loved Garreg Mach. If he was still in charge of students, he was pretty sure the young man would’ve made a nice Blue Lion. He may be doing some questionable actions to the eyes of the law, but take it from a man who’s lived more lifetimes than Raphael ate meals, that he knew a good person when he saw one. Byleth would’ve welcomed him with open arms, figuratively of course -Seteth isn't sure if he's seen the man embrace _anyone_ save for his father, and that was because... yeah- he was sure of that.

Green eyes looked out of a lonely window that overlooked the new Enbarr, reminiscing about old days, days that no matter how much he might wish it, he could never return to. Such is the curse that comes with being a manakete, watching the world and people change around you, but not you. Manaketes loved humans, they loved their cultures, their music, and they loved their celebrations, but they would never be able to be a part of it. Manaketes would instead watch from a distance, as they’ve always done, as they always will.

“Brother, are you alright?” He heard Flayn’s voice break through his thoughts.

“Oh, Flayn you’re back.” He turned around to look at his da… well, he turned to look at his sister.

She changed so much, with her hair now above her shoulders, and her signature bangs traded for a side sweep. She still looked very young, but Seteth knew that in time, even that might change. He couldn’t be sure though, ever since Flayn’s long slumber, her growth was stunted physically.

“Yes, I am back now, but are you alright? You looked so sad…” Her green eyes looked at him in that sad puppy dog way.

“Forgive this old fool for reminiscing, I was simply thinking about our time at Garreg Mach.” He spoke honestly, because many years of life has taught him that nothing good comes from lies, and Flayn deserved honesty.

The reaction was immediate, and Flayn looked like a kicked puppy. It was almost enough to make him wish he kept his mouth shut, almost.

“I see…” She mumbled quietly, eyes looking somewhere far away, probably to those days too.

“Brother…” She started, her small hands subconsciously lifting towards her chest protectively. A habit no amount of time could erase, he supposed. “No, Father… is it alright to miss them? Is it alright to wish I could go back?” She paused, her green eyes watering and her lip quivering. “I-Is it… alright that we are still here a-and they are not?” Her voice cracked.

Seteth didn’t have the answers for that, he was still looking for them himself after all.

“Flayn…” He said gently, pulling her in for a hug. “Do you remember when we went to go retrieve the sacred weapons with the professor?” He started, gently stroking her hair.

He couldn’t really see it, but he felt her nod her head.

“Do you remember what you told me?” He asked again. “You said that we can’t turn back the clock, that we could only keep going forward.”

“I know…” She whispered quietly.

Seteth tucked a lock of green hair behind Flayn’s ear, the pointy thing springing free from it’s hairy prison.

“Come Flayn, let’s go fishing.” He lifted her face towards him, and wiped away the tears that were falling.

“Okay…” She sniffed, shooing his hands away to wipe the rest of the tears herself.

Another thing that time did not change was that Flayn still liked to be independent.

Seteth still had Flayn, and Flayn still had Seteth. One day, they might just have Macuil, Indech, Rhea and Byleth again too. They just had to give it time, and if there was one thing the Manakete had an abundance of, it was time.

“...and tomorrow we can head for the holy mausoleum and see Byleth.” He added a touch hesitantly.

Flayn paused her actions, and turned to look at him with wide green eyes. “Truly?” She asked, a touch of disbelief in her voice.

“Of course. We haven’t seen him or Rhea for awhile…”

Both fell silent at that, a silent agreement to stop talking about it.

Rhea… ever since the battle against Edelgard and Beles at Garreg Mach, she’s never been the same, not really. She was the oldest of them all, and had already been struggling with madness and grief, and now…

He wasn’t sure if she’d ever come back to them, much the same way that he wasn’t sure if Indech or Macuil would come back to them. He did know one thing though, Byleth would come back to them eventually, and when he did, he and Flayn would be there for him.

They simply had to wait.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> EDIT: I almost forgot to thank the people who left a comment or kudos on the last chap lmao I'm so cement sometimes. Anyway, I was really nervous abut writing this, so I'm glad to see there's people who like this


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Flayn is impulsive.

Seteth didn’t like to use the word hate lightly or at all, and he wasn’t saying that he hated paperwork, but he hated paperwork, even though most documents were on a computer nowadays. The fact that he was damn good at signing, reading, and sorting through them too only served to annoy him further, but once an accountant always an accountant, he supposed. Even if the cursed thing did go by a different name when he was working under the Church of Seiros.

When Seteth was at work, people often called him ‘Super Seteth’ for some reason or other. Perhaps it was because he knew self-control, and how to get his work done? He'd just never understand his coworkers.

With his morning cup of coffee in hand, he strolled over to his desk, politely greeting his coworkers. Some of them would wave, he’d wave back and some of them asked Seteth to go for a drink on the weekend with them, and seeing no reason to decline, he didn’t. So long as it didn’t interfere with his and Flany’s plans to see the professor, he could indulge them every once in a while.

“Hey Seteth, how’s it going?” One of his said coworkers, Devon, if he recalled correctly, peered his head up through the cubicle next to his once Seteth sat down.

He had to fight a sigh that wanted to escape him, pretending to be busy by placing his paper coffee cup on his personal cup coaster. He simply couldn’t trust the ones in the break room, to many people spreading illness that way.

“It goes, how about you Devon?” He replied politely, not even looking at said as he started typing a tad aggressively on his innocent keyboard.

Devon, however, was not known for his subtlety, or taking a hint for that matter. Some liked to call him slow, but having had experience dealing with Sitri and Byleth before, he knows that the man’s just dense. A bit more like Raphael and Caspar, to be perfectly frank.

“Pretty good actually, and it’s going even better with the news I heard today.~” He said in a sing-songy voice.

When he didn’t reply, Seteth had hoped the man would go back to work. He admittedly felt guilty at his own bluntness, but it wasn’t anything they couldn’t solve over a drink, he would know.

But of course, this didn’t deter Devon in the slightest, his brown eyes twinkling as he started to gradually get louder for every second Seteth ignored him. It was infuriating, and in his mind’s eye, he vaguely remembers scolding Flayn for doing something similar -it was all Claude’s fault, and he still refuses to budge on that fact- and he finally had enough.

Seteth didn’t even bother with holding back his loud sigh this time, he did hold back rolling his eyes though, and turned to look at his coworker. “I am trying to work right now, and I suggest you do the same.” He said in a clipped tone to his short coworker, who was most likely on his desk right now because he knew that Devon wasn’t tall enough to look over the cubicle on his own.

“Aw, come on, don’t be like that Setty…~” The short man persisted, grinning and flashing Seteth a glimpse of lettuce that was stuck to his teeth.

Seteth near groaned this time, but lifetimes of self restraint helped him not to. Where did the nickname ‘Setty’ come from?! He has half a mind to change his name and jump on the earliest flight for Brigid...

“Well then, out with it.” He said through gritted teeth.

Seteth didn’t actually dislike Devon or anything, quite the opposite actually, but the man was very distracting and energetic. Not to mention a gossiper, since he now knew more personal details about his coworkers than was socially considered ‘the norm’ or acceptable for that matter. How Devon got that information, he’ll never know…

“Sheesh, moody much?” The man tutted, shaking his head in mock disappointment. “I was just gonna say that I heard from someone up in finance that we might be going on a company holiday in New Shambhala!” He silently -read: loudly- squealed.

Years of self discipline could not stop Seteth from banging his head on his desk, causing several of his coworkers to look at the pair in alarm. Funnily enough, it was Devon they were looking at, and not Seteth, despite his uncharacteristic behaviour.

How,  _ how  _ did Devon get a job here?

It seemed that even after three years, he still couldn’t find it in himself to believe it...

“Devon…” He started quietly, not lifting his head up.

_ How many times does this make now? Honestly... _

“Yessir, that’d be me!” The man replied, and he did not need to look up to know he was smiling, blissfully unaware of everyone giving him their best, ‘bruh’ faces as Flayn would’ve put it.

“We  _ are  _ finance…” He groaned, trying not to squeeze the man’s shoulders and shake some sense into him.

The whole room was silent for a moment, the sound of fingers tapping keys and pens scribbling on papers ceased. Even Devon himself had the decency to look sheepish, even if only a little.

“Oh… hehe… whoops?”

As if on cue, several of the workers let out a sigh or groan that could only be described as pure agony to any who might have had the misfortune to have heard it.

It wasn’t exactly a secret to anyone in their department that Devon had no experience, nor was he by any means qualified for the job. Everyone knew by now that he was there because his father was the head of the company, but nobody thought that he was this clueless, and they’d all been wrong. How did the man not know about the trip that  _ his  _ department was helping organize!

Of course Seteth knew about the trip, and he’d been trying to stuff it out of his mind for awhile now. As a matter of fact, he was probably going to make an excuse not to go, like he usually did when asked to go to that Slither infested hellhole for longer than a few hours. Besides, he wasn’t sure his poor heart could take seeing the ruins of Garreg Mach again. Those heretics burned Garreg Mach down to dust, save for the holy mausoleum, and left the ruins there as if to rub it in the Nabatean’s faces. The Agarthans were cruel…

After a long time, everyone slowly resumed working, chalking up Seteth’s strange behaviour to ‘having to deal with Devon’ again. Not to say that they were entirely wrong either, it  _ was  _ entirely Devon’s fault he was in a mood. Devon bringing up the trip only made him even grumpier, something even his morning coffee wouldn’t fix.

New Shambhala City, the capital of Fodlan and a bit on the small side by most standards, but the Agarthans chose that spot specifically because the remaining children of the goddess, save for Indech and Macuil, were residing there. However, they couldn’t get to the Holy Mausoleum, making it the only safe place in that hell. He was forever thankful that they had the foresight to guard the place with only the highest level of security and defensive magical barriers before the war. Ironically, it was also the best place to hide Byleth until he awoke. No one, not even the Agarthans would think that Rhea was cocky enough to hide Byleth literally under their noses. So far, it was serving its purpose well.

Even though he didn’t want to go anywhere near New Shambhala, he  _ did  _ promise Flayn they'd go to see him today. It was admittedly a long drive from Enbarr to the Garreg Mach ruins, but oh well, it’s not as though speed limits were a thing.

...or sleep.

Seteth glanced at his monitor screen, and banged his head on his desk again. This time he paid no heed to the people who looked at him strangely. Goddess, did he really have to get through all of that before lunch break?

It would seem that the goddess didn’t pull any punches with Seteth, and he remembers that she knew how to throw a mean one too. After all, Rhea had to have gotten her brawling skills from somewhere.

He looked at the digital numbers at the corner of his monitor screen, and they read ‘9:21’ am. Seteth banged his head on his desk again, and was starting to consider that he may have a problem and he was not above saying that it was Devon’s fault completely.

“Cheer up Setty…” His other neighbor cooed, this one was named Agatha. “It’s almost conference time, and then we get a break after!” She chirped, a smile that was supposed to be reassuring resting on her pretty face.

Seteth could feel his energy drain out of him, as well as his soul most likely and he was probably visibly deflating too. He had to get through all of this in thirty-nine minutes…

Sothis have mercy…

A loud shout from the kitchen made Seteth rethink those words, because somebody forgot to get the boss coffee. Knowing his coworkers, they were probably going to throw him under the proverbial bus again, so to speak.

He just couldn’t catch a break, could he?

* * *

Flayn looked in the mirror.

She had tried tucking her hair behind her ears because they were getting hot, but the sight of the pointy little things made her narrow in anger. Not at the ears pre se, but at herself, and that they served as a reminder for how much she was apart from everyone else.

Flayn sighed and pushed the hair back on top of her ears.

Before at the monastery, the only reason she would hide her lineage was because she was protecting herself and the remains of her people. Nowadays, it just wasn’t that simple anymore. Gone were the days where something could be chalked up to magic, or where her unique pigmentation wasn’t that odd when standing next to Felix, Hilda, Marianne, or Bernadetta. Now, she just stood out in the worst ways possible.

Flayn walked out of the bathroom and towards the linen closet to retrieve a pillowcase, one that she might have shoved onto her mirror a little more angrily than she intended. She only crossed her arms and huffed when the flimsy thing fell down again.

That’s right, right now she was at home and not at school. If her father found out, he’d probably be cross with her, but she couldn’t bring herself to care right now.

Something she didn’t want to tell her father, was that lately she’d been skipping school, and going for walks just before her father would show up. She knew it couldn’t last, but she’d cross that bridge when she got there. For now, she was sick of being treated so… different. She understood that she came from a different time altogether compared to her classmates, and it wouldn’t be inaccurate to say she was raised in a completely different world either, but were children always so cruel? She was always scolded by Rhea and Seteth whenever she tried to act much more mature or bossy than she was.

_ “Children are supposed to be carefree, innocent and eager. I weep for a child who’s cruel, harsh and distant.” She hears Rhea’s voice, distant and sad. Her eyes are just as distant, just as sad. _

Flayn- or rather, Cethleann knows why she would say that. Manaketes experience much in their long lived lives, nearly everything they say comes from experience, her father and Rhea’s scolding is no different, that’s why she takes such great care to listen to them.

...but, Flayn wasn’t as strong as Rhea or her father. She wasn’t a fragile doll, or overly sensitive either, but she wasn’t as battle-hardened as her aunty or father. She wasn’t as prone to assuming the worst in people, a trait that kept them alive once, but now separates them from everyone else, or as prone to hiding what she was feeling, again, another survival instinct they couldn’t shake. Once, when she was an actual adolescent, not just taking the appearance of one, she remembered how Seiros murdered Nemesis.

She stabbed him so many times that looking back, Flayn realised that she may have tried to give the man one for every one of their brethren’s lives he took.

The world wasn’t like that anymore though, the world was no longer in survival mode. You could nott stab your problems, or kill them, not that Flayn would want to kill a bunch of children anyway. For now, she simply let them hurt her until she learned a way to deal with them that didn’t require force, or hurting them, with words or otherwise. Sentient beings were very sensitive after all.

She’d be lying if she said it didn’t frustrate her though…

The kids were not subtle about their dislike for her, on more than one occasion, her classmates had pulled her hair and threw stuff at her when the teacher had her back turned. Somedays, they’d steal her clothes during phys ed, or take her shoes and make her walk home barefoot. During one such occasion, someone threw a bowl of salad at her and forced her to eat it off the ground. To say she was humiliated would be an understatement. If she were being honest, that incident was why she was staying at home for now.

Before anyone judges her too harshly, how was she supposed to have handled that situation? Sure, she could kill them all if they angered her, but that wasn’t who Flayn wanted to be, she was not her aunty, nor her uncles.

School was just so difficult and confusing! Maybe she’d try again in another fifty years…

She sighed and plopped on her bed.

There had to be  _ something  _ she could do, if this continued on, she may just succumb to her kind’s curse of madness! Surely there was more to her life than being a student for all eternity! Come to think of it, has Flayn ever had any aspirations or goals?

Flayn loved learning, but perhaps it was time to take a break from being a student for the time being. Take a break from being a student and work towards...

She sat up straight in her bed, a grin spreading across her face as she got a wonderful idea. Perhaps, she could one day become a professor like Byleth instead! She could teach students, and work alongside her brother, and maybe one day, even Rhea and Byleth. If she was being hopeful, maybe even her uncles as well! They could start up a small school for aspiring historians, archaeologists, writers -her father would be an excellent professor for that course- and maybe bring back the lost art of magic to the future generations!

Maybe… they could make Fodlan a beautiful place again? Somewhere with meadows and cozy little cabins instead of concrete roads and towering skyscrapers.

Her face fell at the implications of what they would need in order to achieve that.

To kill the Agarthans.

Ever since they won and back stabbed Edelgard, Fodlan belonged to them. If such a school existed, they were surely to tear it down like they did with Zanado and Garreg Mach. This time though, it was only her and her father, which wasn’t enough to beat all of them.

Flayn felt frustrated, and was ashamed by how much she deeply hated them all. When she found herself having dark thoughts about literally ripping their throats out and forcing them to watch as she tore their world down, she would feel deeply ashamed by how much she had let herself hate. Sometimes if she thought too much about them, her draconic features would start showing, and that was always a pain to deal with. So she needed to take her mind off it, and maybe go talk to a friend because she was lonely.

Although…

Green eyes drifted to her floor sadly at the reminder that she didn’t have any anymore.

Did she have anyone she trusted? She scrambled for answers, searching her recent memories -twelve years ago to now- frantically trying to recall if there was anyone she could turn to. The only thing that came to mind was a pair of lilac eyes, and a smug smirk that didn’t look quite right on a teenager’s - _ child’s _ \- face.

Perhaps she could go bug Yuri? They were by no means close, but he was the only one who knew of their circumstances, and wasn’t entirely mean to her. She loved her father, do not misunderstand her, she just needed to see a new face every once in a while.

With a nod, she got up and marched out the apartment door.

...and then marched back in because she forgot her house keys.

Honestly…

Putting that little blunder behind her, Flayn set her sights on the sketchiest, darkest, and most dangerous part of town. It might look dangerous, but that was half the thrill! Besides, she may not look it, but she was a deadly warrior in her own right with eons of experience in her belt! Well, maybe not  _ eons,  _ but her skill still eclipsed any fool who would make the mistake of thinking she would be easy prey.

Once Flayn set foot outside her apartment building, she sent a text to Yuri informing him of her visit. She knew  _ very  _ well by now not to just show up unexpectedly at Yuri’s, lest she get a knife pulled on her again, or worse, walk in on him when he’s with one of  _ those  _ clients. Then again, if he  _ was _ with a client, he might not see her message until it’s too late.

_ No! I must have faith! _

Flayn thinks to herself, hesitantly putting one foot in front of the other before her mind and body decide it’s okay to keep going.

Once she starts walking, it’s hard for her to stop. The air wasn’t as clean anymore, and the streets lurked with more danger than it did back then, but she was always an outdoor child. Maybe it was because she spent much of her life hiding or sleeping, but she always felt the need to use every second of every day productively and to see things with her own eyes, otherwise she feared she’d fall back asleep and wake up to another world again.

That’s why she’ll cheerfully greet anyone that comes up to her, or help elders cross the streets whenever she sees one, or pet the stray alley cats, not unlike Byleth himself. As she walks, nearly everything draws her attention, from the ants crawling out of the sidewalk, or the moths gently landing on the limited number of trees that only seems to get smaller and smaller the further she walks. She’ll notice the pigeons landing on park benches, cooing at the sight of them peacefully sitting there, at least until she has to shoo them away from a young homeless man’s cardboard home, who in turn shoos  _ her  _ away.

She simply can’t help her adoration of the world around her, how could she? It’s always changing, and there’s always something new to look at, plus she could never shake that childish giddiness and excitement that bubbled up in her chest whenever she’d find something particularly pretty or fascinating. When she was much younger, she would tell her mother and father about every little thing she could find, making sure to never miss even the smallest detail.

It’s getting darker out, not quite night yet, but definitely not the afternoon. Some of the street lamps flicker on and off, casting eerie yellow hues that disappear just as quickly as they show up, as if they too are unsure what to call this time of day. When she turns her head and notices MacArnault’s Cafe, she knows she’s close to Yuri’s house, or would it be called a trailer? To be honest, Flayn still isn’t quite sure what to call most of these buildings. As far as she knew, there were only four: castle, house, bigger house, and monastery.

When she finally noticed the least rundown house in the ghettos, she sped up her walk, nearly skipping in excitement, before remembering to pace herself.

How long has it been since she’s last seen Yuri, six months? A year perhaps? Oh well, she’d simply have to make an effort to go see him more, before he… well, before she can’t anymore.

She stood outside the door, taking a deep breath, and then lifted her hand to push the doorbell. A loud ringing sound echoed inside the house, and Flayn was brimming with nerves and excitement. The last time she visited someone was, well, a long time ago.

“Ah, fuck!” A loud shout echoed in the house, causing Flayn to shift uncomfortably. Perhaps Yuri had not seen her text...

There was a crashing sound, followed by a thud, and then the sound of something shattering. This, of course, was followed by a long string of curses, as Flayn averted her eyes awkwardly. Looks like she came while Yuri was… getting it on, how awkward… she wondered if they would notice if she snuck away...

Before she could debate the pros and cons of ditching him, she heard the sound of footsteps getting closer to the door, until finally -after hearing multiple locks click- Yuri opened the door partially and popped his head out.

Lilac eyes -contacts, Yuri had told her last time- widened in surprise. “Oh sh- er…” The teenager (or man, Flayn wasn’t sure if nineteen was old or young by human standards) corrected himself, since Flayn knew he wasn’t comfortable with using vulgar language around her.

“Hello Yuri, is now not a good-” Flayn started, but the door slammed in her face. “...time?” She finished weakly.

“Uh, c-can you... can you wait a second?” He near stuttered, voice lacking the usual tact and smoothness it usually had.

“A-alright.” Flayn shifted awkwardly, preparing herself for a lengthy wait.

“Who was that?” A man’s voice spoke out, loud and cocky, as well as slightly raspy.

“A client.” She heard Yuri respond in a clipped tone.

“I hope you’re not accepting him, I already paid for my time.”

“Yes I am, and she’s not a ‘he’.”

“A woman, huh? I can dig it, let’s do a threesome.~”

“Oh my god, no…”

If Flayn listened hard enough, she was pretty sure she could hear the cringe.

“Why not?”

“She’s a fucking child!”

“No I am not…” Flayn muttered quietly under her breath, slightly annoyed at being called a child.

“Wait, you’re into… children…?”

There was silence for a moment, and Flayn desperately wished she did not show up today. What an uncomfortable discussion they were having. Maybe she could walk away, but then she’d have wasted Yuri’s time for nothing.

“...I just can’t…”

“Bro, you should get some help… It’s not okay to like kids…”

“Get the fuck out! It’s not like that! I have other forms of business you sick fuck!”

Flayn heard Yuri bellow, and then the sound of something getting thrown. She was sure she also heard something that sounded suspiciously like a grunt of pain, but she was frantically trying not eavesdrop. It was hard, considering her manakete heritage gave her nice senses.

She jumped at the sound of loud footsteps approaching the front door, and not knowing what to do, she puffed out her chest and put on her most intimidating glare.

When the door opened, she saw a man look at her curiously.

Being the awkward girl she was, she did only the most tactful thing the situation called for.

She raised her tiny hands, chest still puffed, and face still twisted into the meanest face she could manage.

“Rawr!”

…

The door was slammed closed in her face again.

“What are you still doing here?”

“Hey bro, I’m gonna head through the back…”

“Why? There’s a perfectly good door right there.”

“I think I might die of diabetes if I go through there…”

“Fine, whatever.”

Flayn let out a sharp gasp and cursed herself. She heard of this ‘diabetes’ thing a few years back, and apparently it was a serious physical health problem. Were Nabateans responsible for this problem? Oh dear, she didn’t think her heart could take it if there was another thing separating her from humans, much less if she was hurting them.

When the door opened, Flayn did not hesitate to throw herself into Yuri’s arms.

“Y-Yuri I gave a man diabetes!” She wailed into the male’s chest, feeling her tears leak down his torso.

The male’s  _ bare  _ torso.

Without wasting another second Flayn pushed her arms out, and averted her gaze. Accidentally walking into occupied bathrooms -not her fault if the other people didn’t lock it!- gave her enough practice to know when to look away.

“Flayn, you didn’t give anyone diabetes-” The man started, and then stopped when he saw Flayn’s strange behaviour. “Okay, why are you acting weird?” Yuri crossed his arms over his chest, but Flayn kept looking off to the side, not risking looking at his feet either in fear that he was also wearing no pants.

“I have no idea what you are talking about…” She whistled ‘casually’.

“...”

“...”

Flayn shifted uncomfortably, smile faltering. She wanted to say something, but it was all Yuri’s fault, how does one not know if they aren’t wearing clothes? It was a chilly night,  _ surely  _ he felt it!

She couldn’t take this anymore...

“Okay, alright! Yuri you have no clothes on!” She turned to face him, eyes squeezed shut.

“What are you talking about? I have clothes-” The boy started, but did not finish.

The sound of a door slamming could be heard, and Flayn finally opened her eyes, relieved to see there was no naked lilac haired boy standing there.

“I, uh, can you wait there… again?

“Of course!”

A few awkward minutes later, five to be exact, not that she was counting, the door opened this time to reveal a fully clothed Yuri. During that time she panicked, not realizing she didn’t have a plan to talk to Yuri. If she remembered, Yuri was the kind to ask for a price before helping someone, but Flayn had nothing to give. Maybe, in exchange for being her friend, she’d teach him magic? It was the only thing she could offer...

She felt giddy at the thought of being able to teach someone else magic. Even if starting up her own academy was still far away, it didn’t mean she couldn’t be a good teacher in the meantime. Not everyone could learn magic though, especially not faith nowadays, but for some reason, she just knew Yuri could. If he learned the ways of the sword, he could probably make for a fine trickster.

Not that there was any need for certification exams when there was no need for war or fighting.

“Did you want to come in?” His voice broke her out of her thoughts, and if his cheeks were slightly pink, neither of them commented on it.

Without another word, Flayn walked into the house and plopped herself on a kitchen chair, ignoring the smell of sweat and semen that lingered in the living room.

“So what did you-”

Unable to hide her earlier excitement any longer, she cut him off.

“Yuri, how would you like to learn magic?” She asked him excitedly.

Well, not  _ quite  _ how she had originally planned on asking, but she supposed both questions would’ve led to the same thing one way or another.

“I’m sorry?” The man raised an elegant eyebrow, reminding Flayn of times where the nobility were still around.

She took a deep breath, and started over from the beginning. “I asked if you would be willing to learn magic.” She smoothed her skirt nonchalantly, avoiding the man’s questioning gaze, if she had teacup, she’d probably try drinking out of it to look more casual.

“Not that that doesn’t sound cool or anything, but magic doesn’t exist.” He pointed out, crossing his arms, and leaning on the kitchen door frame.

“You’re right, I got ahead of myself for a second there, how careless of me!” She let out an airy laugh, feeling anxiety well up in the pit of her stomach. “I meant to ask: do you  _ want  _ it to exist again?” he looked to the man, hoping her gambit would pay off.

“You’re a strange little thing aren’t you?” He asked her, eyes never leaving hers for even a second. “What’s your price?”

“Price? Who said anything about a price…” Flayn laughed nervously, looking at the table. 

Cherry oak, not bad.

“Magic, really? Even if it  _ did  _ exist, why would you teach me for free?” He narrowed his eyes skeptically at her.

“So you  _ are  _ interested…” She mumbled, resting her head in her hands.

Yuri’s eyebrow twitched ever so slightly, a ‘blink it and you miss it’ moment. “Enough of this, what do you really want?” He slightly huffed.

There it was, she couldn’t deflect the questions anymore.

“I, uh…” She felt her stomach twist into knots. Maybe she was wrong about Yuri, perhaps he wouldn’t make a good companion… taking a deep breath, she steeled herself. “I was hoping you could be my friend!” She blurted out impulsively.

Maybe it was her imagination, but the young prostitute’s/mobster’s face softened a fraction.

A silence fell among them, and Flayn squirmed uncomfortably in her seat as she waited for Yuri’s verdict.

“Yeah, you got yourself a deal.” He finally said after a period of silence, nodding his head in a way that made his rebellious lilac locks move with it.

“Ah, truly?! That is wonderful!” She squealed, clapping her hands together in joy.

Yuri extended his hand to her, and they proceeded to shake hands in order to seal the deal. Humans had such interesting customs, didn’t they know handshakes weren’t going to stop an untrustworthy person from stabbing them in the back? Oh well, just another thing she’d have to get used to.

Somewhere in the back of her mind, she felt she was forgetting something, but oh well. Surely it couldn’t be  _ that  _ important if she forgot about it, right...?

...

“Oh my goodness! I forgot about Byleth!” She stood up suddenly, chair falling to the kitchen floor.

Yuri raised an eyebrow at her again, expression slightly amused.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey everybody, thanks for reading! I had a blast writing this, and I hope you like this chapter! Comments andkudos are always appreciated, and stay safe!


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